A lot’s happened since hashtags were first proposed on Twitter. Back then, the first generation iPhone was only a few months old. Superbad made a killing in theatres. J.K. Rowling released the seventh, final, and (arguably) most satisfying book of the Harry Potter series.
It took two years for Twitter to fully embrace the hashtag, and it’s been a whirlwind of opportunity and embarrassment for both users and marketers ever since. Just look at this post on successes and failures from seven big brands’ Twitter hashtag campaigns to see what I mean.
While its adoption on Twitter certainly wasn’t its conception, it’s interesting to look at the hashtag’s journey from 2007 to the recent past. Where along the way did it make the biggest difference in the world as we know it? Check out the infographic below from Offerpop for the timeline.